Docetaxel, sold under the brand name Taxotere, is a chemotherapy drug that has been associated with irreversible alopecia (hair loss).

Current lawsuits claim that the drug’s manufacturer was aware of the risk of permanent hair loss, and deliberately concealed this information from the medical community as well as the general public. Here, we present some information about this medication and the issues surrounding legal claims against the manufacturer.

What Type of Chemotherapy Drug is Docetaxel?

Docetaxel (Taxotere) is part of a class of chemotherapy drugs known as taxanes. The drug is a synthetic version of an extract known as paclitaxel, normally obtained from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree, known as taxol.

This species is native to Alaska, British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest states and California’s Coast Range, and is exceedingly rare. Because of this scarcity, a great deal of research was undertaken in order to create a synthetic analogue – and docetaxel is the result.

What is Taxotere Used For?

Taxotere is indicated primarily for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer; less frequently, it is used to treat cancers of the head and neck, stomach and prostate; it is also approved to non-small-cell lung cancer. It may be used as monotherapy or in combination with other chemotherapy drugs.

Docetaxel is not recommended for patients with impaired liver function, who may experience more severe side effects (see below). It is also contraindicated in patients with low white blood cell count and women who are pregnant or breast feeding as well as those with allergies to polysorbate 80.

How Does Docetaxel Work?

Like other chemotherapy drugs of the taxane class such as paclitaxel, Taxotere is a “mitotic inhibitor.” As you may recall from high school or college biology courses, mitosis is the process of cell division, or reproduction. While taxane drugs are designed to stop the reproduction of malignant cancer cells, they also affect healthy cells, including hair follicles. This is why many chemotherapy patients wind up losing hair during their treatment.

Are There Other Side Effects of Docetaxel?

Aside from hair loss, chemotherapy drugs such as Taxotere can cause a number of side effects, such as decline in blood cells, numbness, respiratory distress, nausea and vomiting, and muscular pain. A few patients experience allergic reactions, and may have cancer recurrence.

Cancer patients who are given paclitaxel experience new hair growth within a few months after their treatment is completed. However, in the case of docetaxel, some studies conclude that hair loss can be permanent. This effect may be due to the fact that its active ingredient is a synthetic version of taxol, and substantially more potent than the natural yew bark derivative.

Why is the Drugmaker Being Sued?

As noted earlier, a significant number of patients (primarily women undergoing breast cancer treatment) experience irreversible alopecia after treatment with docetaxel.

Plaintiffs claim that Sanofi-Aventis was aware of this problem and deliberately neglected to inform patients and doctors. One basis of this claim is lies in the fact that Sanofi did indeed issue such a warning in Canada and the European Union in 2005 – ten years before such a notification was given in the US.

Plaintiffs also allege that Sanofi-Aventis engaged in an aggressive marketing scheme that downplayed the risks and involved physician kickbacks.